A certified nursing assistant, or CNA, helps patients or clients with healthcare needs under the supervision of a Registered Nurse (RN) or a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

Ready to get your CNA?

We are excited to offer a selection of two Nursing Assistant curriculum options, depending on your wants and needs. SCTCC offers the the HLTH 1402 Nursing Assistant courses. 

An additional course offering is HLTH 1490, a 16 hour refresher course which reviews all the NA curriculum skills and helps students prepare for the skills portion of the state test for certification on the registry.

The HLTH 1402 curriculum is designed to be taken as quickly as possible to test for the state examination, get on the registry, and enter the world of work as a nursing assistant. It involves a total of 80 hours.

  • The first portion of the HLTH course is classroom/theory (16 hours).
  • The second portion of the HLTH course is lab/clinical with 40 (of 64 hours) in the lab; all the unit quizzes, tests, practice skills and return demonstration are during theory and lab.
  • The final portion of the HLTH course is supervised practical training (16 hours) held in our state approved nursing assistant lab.

The full HLTH 1402 course meets the Nursing Assistant prerequisite requirement for application to the Practical Nursing program.

The full HLTH 1402 course is sufficient to earn the rubric points associated with Nursing Assistant for application to the Sonography, Surgical Technology and Cardiovascular programs.

The Federal and State OBRA laws and Minnesota Department of Health requirements are met in the HLTH 1402 3 credit curriculum

If you're already an SCTCC or Minnesota State student, please register in eServices.

  • For HLTH option, search for HLTH 1402.

If you're not already an SCTCC or Minnesota State student, you can register as a Visiting Student.

There are two ways to registering as a Visiting Student:

  • Option 1: Follow the steps on the Visiting Students page to register as a Visiting Student.
  • Option 1: Call 320-308-5075 to register as a Visiting Student. 

When you have completed the NA training, you can take the certification exam right here at SCTCC. Information and online registration is through SCTCC’s Customized Training Department.